BCC EP:135 Gaze of the cats - return visits to Glos & Herefordshire

Tracey had a prolonged and close view of a black panther outside her car at a forest edge in Gloucestershire in 2001. Two years later she was able to compare the cat with a black leopardess at Heythrop private zoo in the Cotswolds.

Tracey recounts other big cat reports from family and friends, including from her sister who was a sceptic until seeing a black panther in the same general area, and from friends who were confronted by a puma on a cycleway near Stroud.

Tracey has had two puma encounters herself. The first on a mountain path when trekking in Patagonia, and then in October 2025, when driving on the edge of Cirencester. Rick recalls past big cat sightings in precisely the same area of Cirencester, unknown to Tracey.

In a final segment we play voice messages from Craig in Herefordshire as he follows up ep129 when he reported a puma on one of his trail cams. In December Craig was charged by a puma just meters from that camera and he’s twice seen watching eye shine at close range. We then hear from Mark Graves, from ep 95, as he responds to Craig’s comments and queries about these recent events.

Word of the week: zoophobia

11 January 2026